The American Embassy in Manila recently issued the following travel advisory: A similar advisory would have been issued by the Foreign Office prior to the centralisation of government web sites and the downgrading of consular services in the Philippines -- no travel information is available now.
Nothing new. They issue these warnings on a regular basis and have been doing so for years. Wonder how many Americans have actually been kidnapped there in the last ten years if any.
Are they referring to the city of Zamboanga or to the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte or to the whole of the Zambianga Peninsula?
Bxxxer! But probably right. As noted on the tourism thread, Kay and her family won't let me out of their sight, when I'm there, and she was pretty worried about going out in the evenings in Molave with me. To be honest, the place is a tropical version of Norn Iron (which I also like) - basically rural, with a huge amount of tension between the incomers who have been "planted" (Catholics in Zamboanga, Protestants in Norn Iron) and the original inhabitants (Catholics in Norn Iron, Moslems in Zamboanga). All is peaceable on the surface, but "not really", and the two communities have separated themselves into different districts in the towns, and the countryside is similarly divided up.
We have heard the advisory, but realistically, from what you know, how far does this zone extend outwards? Is it just confined to the peninsula region?
Interesting - here is the FCO Travel Advisory, dated 29th May and still current: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/philippines Mark and other residents of Davao and elsewhere in Mindanao will know more, but I would have thought that this map would be a better guide. The ARMM, both the islands and the mainland provinces of Lanao del Sur and, in particular, Maguindanao, are where I would think at least twice before venturing.
Thanks. I appreciate it is different for you than me as I have no need as such to venture into such areas. But I would still like to know, how reliable the advisories are. I realise that at times they can be overly pessimistic but how sure can we be that they are, here and now and in this case.
There certainly are Caucasians who live in Zamboanga del Sur, notably in Pagadian. They may well be in Markham's category of American and Australian idiots. I didn't see any other people looking like me (well, Heaven help them if they do!) in Molave, but there are towns in Bataan where one could say the same. Kay's family were extra jumpy when I was with them because a policeman told us that there had just been a kidnap in Pagadian. Not worried about visiting; sadly, would feel it unwise to settle there, at present. Looking on the bright side, it's typhoon free!
Markham, noticed on the UK travel advisory map that Davao city has a " advise against all but essential travel warning". No need to worry there as you have Mayor Duterte I will be traveling to General Santos on Wednesday which has a "advise against all travel warning". Go there at least 6 times a year and have never felt threatened. How do the embassies come up with these warnings?
My take on this sort of thing is not of course built on any experiences in Mindanao. But is built on past similar experiences elswhere. I was in and out of Angola a good few years ago when there was civil war on there ( SWAPO and Unita etc ). I was also in and out of Libya at the time when the American navy airforce shot 2 of Gaddafi's Migs out of the sky and also in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, where parties of tourists and students had been captured and held hostage. In all cases the advisories were in place. However, I wasn't threatened as such and of course survived. Should I have heeded the advisories? Difficult call, as at the end of the day it is all about risk. The chances are that I would live to tell the tale but I was at higher risk travelling and staying in these areas. The key here is the word risk. So my understanding would be that to travel in these areas in Mindanao, we put ourselves at higher risk.
Davao is a very safe city due to the permanent presence of its own armed forces unit, the Davao Protection Force and in reality the only threat would be from the NPA to the north of Calinan. However the NPA targets corrupt elected or appointed officials and, by and large, leaves the civilian population alone. Unlike Abu Sayaf who do target civilians and especially foreigners. As there is no longer any diplomatic presence outside Manila and the warden system has been abandoned, I'm not sure how the Foreign Office comes up with its travel advisories. Maybe a junior member of the Consular staff meets with his opposite number from the US Embassy in a bar in Malate and plies him with drink and 'entertainment'! As far as General Santos is concerned, although the city itself is pretty much trouble-free, it is one of those where you should pay more attention to your own personal security, be more aware of your surroundings and avoid public surface transportation unless accompanied by someone you know and trust. I would recommend not venturing out of the city to the north.
Travel Advisory for Nigeria. Summary Still current at: 9 June 2013 Updated: 20 May 2013 Latest update: Summary, Northern Nigeria and Curfews sections - ongoing military operations and curfews The FCO advise against all travel to parts of the country. The FCO advise against all but essential travel to parts of the country. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nigeria This has been the case for decades. I know many people that have been in and out of there either on a one off basis or for long stints of a year or two. In all cases they survived and came home with tales to tell. Other people wern't so lucky and you may have heard about the hostage taking that goes on there, again over a period of many years. What is the purpose of and rational behind the advisory? Nigeria is undoubtedly a high risk area, hence the advisory.
I was married to someone who, as a girl, ran a safe house, hid weapons and acted as lookout for the NPA; they are "officially" anti-foreigner but they don't do much about it as they know it doesn't make them popular in the same way as killing corrupt officials does. Unfortunately they tend to assume that all members of the armed forces and the police are "permitted targets". Many of the NPA cadres in Mindanao have moved there from Bataan. I have the impression that a difference between the NPA and the likes of the Abu Sayyaf is that the NPA are widely supported by the Christian majority population, because they provide a system of "justice" that is seen to be efficient and non-corrupt, whilst the Abu Sayyaf are only supported by a minority of the Moslem minority. When I was in Beijing working for Cosco I used to meet for lunch once a month with the British and American Naval Attaches at an Italian restaurant and we would work out what to say in their monthly reports on the PLA Navy's ability to invade Taiwan, which was in fact non-existent but Xinhua News Agency didn't know the difference between a ro-ro able to load a tank and a Panamax bulker...
I travelled from Davao to Midsayyap over the Christmas period. The state of the road (and the driving) gave me the biggest worries ! I felt reasonably comfortable about the trip, but the family were a bit concerned. Can't remember seeing another European in the 3 days I was in Midsayyap, but was told 1 or 2 lived in the area. But would happily return.
